Central Hospital for Veterinary Medicine

Healing is proceeding per diagnosis. The ophthalmology staff is extremely competent and very courteous and accommodating. They are very through regarding verbal and written diagnoses, procedures, and medication instructions.

I was so grateful that I was referred to Dr. Olmsted at Central Hospital after my beloved cat received her cancer diagnosis. Dr. Olmsted was caring, compassionate and knowledgeable. She patiently explained the diagnosis and the treatment options, answered all my questions, and gave me the information and peace of mind I required to settle on a best course of treatment for my cat. I appreciated both her empathy and her candor; I came away with the impression that she truly cared for my cat and was committed to pursuing the “best” treatment options. Dr. Olmsted is a very special doctor (oncologist); I would highly recommend to anyone. In addition, Dr. Olmsted’s assistants and the staff at Central Hospital were very friendly, caring and professional. Their warmth and compassion during the process was much appreciated.

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The service was very good. The staff was very nice. I waited 45 minutes. It was a Saturday evening, so due to the circumstances I don't know if they could have done anything differently. It was a bit expensive.

The service was excellent. The staff was excellent. I would heartily recommend them. With regard to price, they seemed fair. With regard to punctuality, it's an emergency hospital, so we get bumped. It doesn’t mean that we won't wait if there is something more urgent. I would absolutely use them again in the future.

Dr. Harley is my dog's cardiac vet, ever since he was diagnosed with cardiac disease at the age of 7. She is WONDERFUL. She is a real calming presence. She spends a lot of time with us, answering all of my questions, communicating expectations of how the disease will progress, etc. I felt like my dog is in very good hands there.
This practice recently moved to North Haven and the new facilities are AMAZING.

My most recent experience with Central Hospital was in June 2008 when I brought my cat in on a Saturday afternoon, because I noticed that she had stopped eating and drinking, and was beginning to vomit. I had a mixed experience that leads me wondering about the care provided. I worked with several different vets, and some were better communicators than others. Of course, I'm not a vet, so I can't really judge the medical appropriateness of what happened. All I know is that after close to $4,000 for abdominal surgery, and four days of ICU level care, I still don't know what was wrong with my cat, because the surgery didn't find anything, and the lab results came back inconclusive. At times, I would be treated well, other times the staff was rude, brusque, or simply too busy to answer my questions. I was told one thing (please come visit your cat any time) and then another (this isn't when you're supposed to come visit your cat, we'll let you see her this time, but don't do it again). I know that hindsight is 20/20, but I very much wish that I had chosen a less aggressive, non-surgical approach to her care. Do I blame Central for that? Probably not. Will I come back? This is the only 24-hour emergency vet in the New Haven area, so they have somewhat of a monopoly. If one of my cats gets sick again on off-hours, I would go back.

I have been bringing my cats there now for about 6 years. I brought one of my cats there because it was dying and eventually it was so bad, I had to put it down. They were great during that time as it was very emotional for me to loose a part of my family, but they were right there the whole time with encouragement.